Cal women beat Oregon in overtime

By Stephanie Hammon shammon@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted:
01/05/2014 03:07:13 PM PST

Updated:
01/05/2014 10:32:06 PM PST

BERKELEY -- With a little extra boost from the return of star forward Gennifer Brandon, the Cal women's basketball team outlasted Oregon 101-98 in overtime Sunday afternoon in the highest scoring women's game in Haas Pavilion history.

Reshanda Gray scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Brittany Boyd made Cal's biggest plays in the final minute of overtime as the Bears completed a sweep of the Oregon schools in the opening weekend of Pac-12 play.

Boyd, who battled foul trouble, hit a short jumper with 43 seconds left in the extra period to give the Bears the lead for good. She then made 3 of 4 free throws and produced a key steal to seal the win in front of 2,071 fans.

Until Cal (10-3) blew a nine-point lead with two minutes left in regulation, the biggest story of the afternoon was Brandon's return to action.

The 6-foot-2 senior, known for her outstanding rebounding, had missed nearly two months of action while on a leave of absence for personal reasons.

In her first game action since Nov. 10, Brandon came off the bench early in the first half to a huge ovation from the crowd. She finished with nine points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes.

Her first field goal of the game gave her 1,000 points for her career, making her just the fourth player in Cal history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

"She's a wonderful person who brings a lot to the team, and that's not just the points and the rebounds," Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of Brandon.

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"Today she had to shake off some of the rust, but she did a great job on the boards, she was active, she made some big free throws for us. We'll continue to move forward and progress with her getting back in game rhythm."

Cal looked on its way to victory against Oregon (9-4, 0-2), the top scoring team in the nation under coach Paul Westhead, but fumbled when the Ducks turned on their full-court pressure with the Bears leading 87-78 in regulation.

After a string of Cal turnovers, including a five-second violation with 25 seconds to play, Oregon freshman Chrishae Rowe tied the game on a layup with seven seconds left and the teams went to overtime.

Cal led for most of the extra period, despite Gray fouling out.

"We're not a team that crumbles any time things get hard," said Gray, who scored 24 of her points after halftime. "We're definitely a team full of fighters."

Said Gottlieb: "That resilience was sort of a trademark of our success last year, and now we know it's a trademark of our program."

Five Cal players scored in double figures. Boyd finished with 17 points and nine assists despite picking up her fourth foul with 16:20 left in regulation.

Freshman Courtney Range had a career-high 12 points along with 13 rebounds, and Mikayla Lyles went 4 of 4 from beyond the arc to finish with a season-high 12 points.